California Grocery-Contract Talks Sputter

By

David Kesmodel

Updated June 20, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

Contract talks between Southern California's major supermarket chains and the union representing their workers have sputtered, raising the possibility of a repeat of the region's crippling grocery strike of 2003-2004.

Representatives of both the United Food and Commercial Workers union and the three chains -- Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons -- said yesterday that it was unlikely the two sides would make a union-imposed deadline of Thursday to agree on a new contract that the union would recommend to its members. The union,...